More Space For Joy
I shall defend my right to experience
passionate feelings against Eastern
pleadings to give up joy and sorrow
live in quiet submission to whatever
fate brings; I know fate endowed
me with my life’s limitations,
circumstances and personality. I base my
life on rational considerations, claim my
freedom based on rationality
but I shall enjoy feelings and emotions,
capacity to react to stimuli creatively,
refuse to be resigned and calm.
If play of feelings creates karma, so be it -
my life and relationships are founded on
integrity, I’ll keep imaginary life intact
and live my fantasy; Eastern methodologies,
resigned receipt preventing pain and sorrow
seem a waste of glorious capacity
to feel. I willingly allow ideas hurt me
as those wounds open up more space for joy
just like Kahlil Gibran said.
Prefer World As It Is
I respect all viewpoints, believing
everything can be made true, but we
get to choose which truths we want
to identify and interact with
not the truth of Buddhism in Eastern
religion for me: The self and everything
else is seen as empty – to facilitate
creating a distance between action and result –
no motivation to excel is left attaining
that goal, no attachment to the result of
our deeds; it leads to Unification and the
end of the universe - but I don’t want that,
diversity seems so much more exciting.
Dr Hiroshi predicts existence of a utopian
state of unity for the year 2244 – sounds
boring, I prefer the world as it is.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem